Three Foot Passing Bill Goes to the Governor’s Desk

The Three Foot Passing bill introduced by Assemblymember Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) passed the State Senate on August 26th. Today, it received a final vote in the Assembly, passing 51-23 at about 10:30am. It now heads to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk to be signed into law.

The bill states:

A driver of a motor vehicle shall not overtake or pass a bicycle proceeding in the same direction on a highway at a distance of less than three feet between any part of the motor vehicle and any part of the bicycle or its operator.

Similar legislation has been vetoed twice previously by Governor Brown, most recently in 2012. This legislation contains none of the issues he raised with previous “Three Foot” efforts, including provisions requiring drivers to slow down if they cannot pass with three feet of clearance and allowing drivers to cross the centerline to pass bicyclists. Those omissions notwithstanding, this legislation is a step forward in protecting all road users and should become law.

If you feel as strongly about this as we do, we ask that you contact the governor’s office to express your support for the Three Feet for Safety Act, and push for him to sign it into law.

I am going to re-blog this on my various sites and post it up on as many social media platforms as possible. This is an important step in cyclists being able to use the roadways with safety as they should have a right to do under the California Vehicle Code. Thanks for the updates.

[…] 1. Trains and bike lanes are coming—fast.If you are one of those Angelenos who has never taken the train or ridden on a bus, you are about to become a minority, and fast. Trains are having a boom; the Expo Line is being extended to Santa Monica, the Purple Line will slink all the way down Wilshire to Westwood, and the Gold Line is going all the way to Azusa. What’s more, neighborhoods like downtown are rapidly being converted to bike centers, and the L.A.-originated Give Me Three bike rule is being turned into a state law. […]